A collaboration involving Osaka University found that the degradation of solid platinum electrodes in electrochemical devices is influenced by the cations present in the liquid electrolyte. Higher cation acidity increased the concentration of hydroxide ions near the electrode surface, facilitating electrode degradation compared with that in systems with lower cation acidity. These findings are important for designing durable electrochemical devices like batteries and fuel cells.

π-Electronic systems with delocalized electrons facilitate charge transport and molecular stacking. Ordered arrangements of π-electronic systems are crucial for charge transport but often result in lower solubility. Researchers from Ritsumeikan University have developed a new strategy for assembling such conductive materials using a highly planar benzoporphyrin gold (Au^III) complex. This breakthrough in π-electronic systems offers enhanced solubility and charge segregation, paving the way for innovative electronic applications.

Researchers from Kyoto University have achieved a groundbreaking advancement in materials science by developing the world's first three-dimensional van der Waals open frameworks (WaaFs). This innovation challenges the conventional belief that van der Waals interactions are too weak for open framework materials, demonstrating their potential for stable and highly porous materials.

An international research group led by Osaka Metropolitan University researchers conducted a large-scale online survey of clinicians in the Asia-Pacific region to investigate treatment policies for the gastric cancer-causing bacteria Helicobacter pylori.

Socioeconomic, gender and racial discrimination may explain higher rates of depression among teenage girls in London versus Tokyo

A research team at Kumamoto University has developed a groundbreaking deep learning-based method for analyzing the cytoskeleton—the structural framework inside cells—more accurately and efficiently than ever before. This advancement, recently published in Protoplasma, could transform how scientists study cell functions in plants and other organisms.

Researchers from Science Tokyo have discovered that bacterial swarms transition from stable vortices to chaotic turbulence through distinct intermediate states. Combining experiments with bacterial swarms, computer simulations, and mathematical modeling, the team clarified the intricate process by which orderly swirling turns to disordered turbulence as the free space available to bacteria increases. These findings provide new insights into active matter physics and could inform future applications in micro-robotics, biosensing, and active fluid-based micro-scale systems.

Overuse of chemical pesticides has driven resistance in agricultural pests, including the adaptable two-spotted spider mite. Researchers from Japan have discovered novel elicitor proteins, Tet3 and Tet4, in mite saliva that could enhance sustainable pest control. They found that these proteins play a crucial role in modulating plant defense responses by acting as key players in the complex interactions between parasite and host, paving the way for new mite countermeasures.   

Exercise is widely recognized as beneficial for patients with heart failure, with current guidelines relying on introducing exercise after heart failure diagnosis. This leaves a noticeable lack of research on the impact of habitual physical activity before hospitalization on post-discharge outcomes. Now, researchers from Japan have found that even small but consistent amount of exercise before hospitalization could be associated with better health outcomes after discharge, making exercise more accessible and practical for older patients.

An Osaka Metropolitan University-led research team has developed a deep learning model that uses AI image recognition to efficiently and accurately detect bubble-like structures in the universe, including many previously unlisted in astronomical databases.